Of course Larry Fitzgerald is one of league's best players over 35 years old

It goes without saying. Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is great. He turns 35 years old just before the season begins. So naturally he appears on Pro Football Focus’ list of the 10 best players in the league over 35. He just isn’t 35 quite yet.

He joins a list of mostly quarterbacks — there are four quarterbacks, two offensive linemen, Fitzgerald, two pass rushers and a cornerback.

Fitzgerald comes in at No. 8.

Turning in the ninth-ranked overall grade (85.3) among qualifying wide receivers last season, Fitzgerald thrived playing an increased percentage of his offensive snaps from an inside alignment, which, if continued, could increase the longevity of his success as he gets older.

Fitzgerald, while running 62.2 percent of his routes from the slot, ranked 14th in passer rating when targeted and tied for 15th in yards per route run (1.78) among wideouts with at least 82 targets in 2017. He also ranked sixth in drop rate (3.54) among the same group of wide receivers.

Specifically looking at his slot production, Fitzgerald caught 65-of-93 targets for 779 yards and three touchdowns, ranking fifth in yards per route run (1.93) and 17th in catch rate (69.9) among qualifiers. Now, with veterans Sam Bradford and Mike Glennon as well as Josh Rosen stepping in place in the Cardinals’ quarterback carousel, Fitzgerald will have a good chance of repeating his 2017 production, if not improve on it in 2018.

His being in the top 10 players 35 or older is no surprise. That is a given. The fact of the matter is he, turning 35 years old an entering his 15th NFL season, is still one of the best players in the game. Is he a top-10 player? Probably not, but with more than 100 receptions in each of the last three seasons, he clearly is one of the league’s top receivers.

Who knows how much longer he intends on playing? No matter how long that is, Cardinals fans need to enjoy it. His play for such a long time is rare. There likely will never be anyone else like him.